Light at the End of the Tunnel
by LexaLane
Summary: Takes place after The Assault. Pairings: JL BS
1. Chapter 1

The four members of Mutant X ran as fast as they could from rubble of Dominion HQ, none of them saying a word. Once they were a safe distance away the group slowed to a walk and turned to look at the still visible Dominion building, burning in the distance.

Jesse finally broke the silence. 'What the hell are we going to do now?' He asked

'We have to find Adam. Jesse is the only one here not living under a death sentence.' Lexa replied, worry evident in her voice.

'How are we supposed to do that? The Helix is gone, Sanctuary is gone, the Dominion….' Shalimar's eyes flickered around the group.

'No, they haven't won anything yet. Look, we have to get moving, come on.' Brennan said. With that he took hold of Shalimar's arm and motioned her forward and Lexa and Jesse followed in suit.

They ventured through the forest surrounding the Dominion HQ, the cold air stinging their bare skin and the stray branches scraping their flesh as they ran. Jesse winced in pain with each step he took; he was really feeling the effects of his torture session at courtesy of the Dominion. He slowed to a halt when the pain became too much and dropped to the floor.

Lexa, who had been just in front of Jesse, noticed the disappearance of his footsteps behind her and turned to check on him. Seeing him on the floor she rushed over to him.

'Guys, wait up!', she called after Shalimar and Brennan. She got down on the ground next to Jesse.

'Hey, you ok?' she asked. He didn't respond. She placed her hand on his check, gentle pulling his face to face her.

'Jess?' Lexa said pleading with him.

'I'm ok, I just need a breather.' He replied, clearly exhausted.

Shalimar and Brennan had retraced their steps to where Jesse and Lexa were kneeling on the floor. Shalimar's eyes suddenly glowed yellow as she stared into the forest in the direction from which they had come. Her feral senses had picked up the Dominion agents who had obviously been sent after them.

'Guy's, we've got company. We need to move now.' Shalimar said urgently.

Soon enough, the rest of the group heard muffled voices and the trampling of footsteps in the distance. Shalimar looked at Jesse, willing him to get up.

'Go without me, it's the only way for you guys to escape. I'll just slow you down.'

At this Lexa grabbed Jesse's hand and looked straight into his eyes.

'No way! I am not leaving without you.' She said, angry at the suggestion. 'I'm not going to lose you.'

Despite their situation, Jesse couldn't help but smile at Lexa's unusually obvious display of feeling.

'Lexa's right man, we're not going anywhere without you.' Brennan said.

The display of faith from his teammates filled Jesse with a sense of newfound strength and he got to his feet.

'Well, lets get going then,' Jesse said determinedly.

With Lexa supporting him on one side and Brennan on the other, Jesse and the rest of Mutant X began to move again.

But, despite their forward movement, the sound of the Dominion agents was growing ever closer. They were closing on them.

Shalimar, who had been leading the group through the dark with her feral abilities, stopped running, prompting the others to stop too.

'There's no way we're going to be able to out run these guys. What are we going to do?' She looked around desperately, as though willing a solution to appear out of the darkness.

Brennan too knew there was no way they could outrun the Dominion agents when they were in their current state.

'We're going to have to fight.' However, he very much doubted they'd be much good in a fight either. They were all exhausted and injured. He began to accept the inevitable; there was no getting out of this.

The voices of the agents were growing louder with every passing second. Brennan took a fighting stance, as did Shalimar. Lexa, however, who had been silent for the past few minutes, stepped forward.

'There might be another option.' She said hesitantly.

'Yeah? Well, whatever it is lets hear it.' Brennan said, a tessler coil forming in his hand, ready for the attack.

'I might have a way for us to get away from here, far enough away to buy us some time to recuperate. You see, there's something about my powers that I haven't told you.'

'What? What are you talking about?' Jesse said confused. He looked around to see Brennan and Shalimar looking equally confused.

Before Lexa could reply, there was a loud bang and at least a dozen bullets ripped through the air. Brennan dived at Shalimar, knocking them to the ground out of the path of the bullets. Jesse took Lexa in his arms and massed out, sending bullets ricocheting off them.

'Well Lex, if you've got a way to get us out of here I'd say now is the time to do it.' Said Brennan helping Shal up off the ground.

'I'm not even sure if it'll work. I mean I've only done it once or twice…' Lexa stammered.

Again, a shower of bullets rushed through the trees, this time only millimetres from the team.

'Lexa! Whatever it is, you have to try. I have faith in you.' Jesse pleaded with her desperately.

'Ok.' Lexa replied. 'Everybody hold on tight.'

Looking round hesitantly at each other then to Lexa, the other three members of Mutant X grabbed onto Lexa.

'Here goes….' Lexa shut her eyes, with a look of pure concentration on her face.

For a couple of seconds nothing happened. Shal looked at Brennan, who looked as disheartened as she felt. What was Lexa doing, she asked herself.

Lexa sensed the doubt from her teammates beside her. 'Come on, please work.' She said frantically to herself.

There was another deafening bang and another dozen bullets hurtled towards them. Shalimar braced herself, preparing for the searing pain of the bullets ripping into her. But, the pain never came. The world around them shifted and became a blur. Shal squeezed her eyes shut as she felt her stomach turn out upside down. She tightened her grip on Lexa and on Brannan, who also felt his stomach somersault. Jesse opened his eyes, only to shut them again quickly. They were surrounding by a blinding light all around. 'Was Lexa doing this?' He asked himself.

Then, merely seconds after they had apparently left the forest and the Dominion team, Mutant X felt their feet hit the ground with a sharp jolt. Lexa was the first to open her eyes, followed slowly by the other members of Mutant X.

Shalimar was suddenly aware of how cold it had become. She shivered and looked around, awestruck at what she saw; the were on the side of a road, standing in front of a signpost which read 'Vancouver 36 miles.'

Shal looked at Brennan and then to Jesse. They had obviously seen the sign too, as they looked as shocked and confused as she did. Then she looked at Lexa, who had turned extremely pale and swayed backwards on the spot slightly.

'Oh my God!' Said Shalimar, not fully able to take in their surroundings.

'What the hell? We're in Canada!' Brennan stuttered. 'How the hell did we get to Canada?' They looked at Lexa with questioning eyes. But before Lexa could answer her eyes drifted shut and she fell backwards.

'Lexa!' Jesse cried. He rushed forwards and caught Lexa in his arms.

Shal dropped to the floor next to where Jesse sat, cradling Lexa in his arms. Her head hurt, confusion was overwhelming her.

'Ok, would someone like to tell me what's going on? Is Lex ok?' Brennan said. Shalimar looked at him blankly, equally as bewildered as he was.

'Well, I can't be sure,' Jesse said looking at Lexa, unconscious in his arms, then up to Shalimar and Brennan. 'But, I…I think we just travelled at the speed of light.'


	2. Chapter 2

'_Well, I can't be sure,' Jesse said looking at Lexa, unconscious in his arms, then up to Shalimar and Brennan. 'But, I…I think we just travelled at the speed of light.'_

'We what?' Stuttered Brennan. 'How is that possible?' He knelt down next to Jesse and felt Lexa's neck for a pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief when he did. It was slow and a bit weak, but it was weak.

'Well, Lexa has the ability to control and manipulate light. It makes sense that see can travel in it I suppose, right Jess?' Shalimar asked.

However, Jesse did not reply. He was staring down at Lexa, stroking her hair. He was gently trying to wake her but to no avail, the sight made Shalimar's heart melt. Sensing her staring Jesse looked up to meet Shalimar's gaze.

'She's going to be fine man,' Brennan said, trying to reassure his friend. 'She's just out cold. The uh...trip, must've taken a lot out of her.'

Jesse thought about it. Brennan was right, the usage of power of such a magnitude must require a great amount of strength. Lexa must've just passed out from exhaustion. He brightened a little at the consolation

'Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm getting frostbite out here. How about we try and find somewhere where we can clean up and get a good nights rest?' Shalimar suggested.

'I'm all for that,' Brennan replied, moving over Shalimar and rubbing her arms, trying to warm her. She smiled up at him for his attempt. 'Being near such a big city like Vancouver, there must be some motels near by. Which was do think we should head?'

'Well, I can hear noises coming from that direction, a buzzing sound, like the sound that motel signs make.' Shalimar gestured towards the right.

'Right it is then.' Jesse rose slowly to his feet, still holding Lexa in his arms.

'You want me to help you with Lexa?' Shalimar offered kindly.

'No, it's ok. I've got her.' Jesse replied starting to walk in the direction Shalimar had motioned.

'Ok then.' Brennan said rubbing his hands together. 'Lets find us a motel!'

The group began their walk up the road. They had been walking for around twenty minutes when a row of buildings came into view just ahead of them, visible by the light of a single streetlamp and a strange pink hue. As they got closer they saw that, to their delight, the pink glow was emanating from a neon sign that read 'The Mermaid Motel: Vacancies.'

'Hallelujah!' Brennan exclaimed with delight. 'I need food, a shower and a bed.'

'Amen to that!' said a quite, croaky voice. Shalimar and Brennan turned to see Lexa stirring and Jesse gently lowered her to her feet.

'Hey,' Shalimar said, relieved to see that Lexa was awake.

'Nice of you to join us.' Brennan playfully mocked, resulting in a sarcastic smile thrown in his direction from Lexa.

Jesse reached out and stroked her arm. 'Are you ok?' he asked her, concern etched in his face.

'Yeah I'm ok.' Lexa replied smiling at Jesse. 'Well, I mean my head hurts like hell as though someone's trying to split it open with a hammer and chisel…' she laughed half heartedly, 'but other than that I'm ok.' Jesse's face softened slightly.

'Lex, I've got to ask, what happened back there?' Shalimar piped up.

'Well, we…we kind of travelled at the speed of light.' Lexa responded.

'Ha, said so!' Jesse exclaimed triumphantly, causing the rest of the group to chuckle at the abruptness.

'So, how come we didn't know about it before now?' Brennan enquired.

'Well, I hardly ever do it. Its difficult and it takes a lot out of me so I try to avoid it. I've never done it with passengers before. I'm just glad it didn't go wrong and that there were no side effects.' Lexa finished.

'Wait a minute, side effects?' Brennan said.

'Well, I suppose that a part of you could've been left behind or something, I've heard of that happening before.' Lexa said.

Shalimar and Jesse laughed seeing the look of utter horror on Brennan's face.

'Left behind? And you didn't think to mention this beforehand? He continued their banter and grimaced at the though.

'What, would you have preferred me to leave you behind to get captured by the…..' her voice trailed off. What with her recent power display and her playful exchange with Brennan she had temporarily forgotten about their situation. She looked to the ground, the memories from earlier that night flooding back; Adam, the Creator, the explosion at the Dominion, Sanctuary and the Helix being destroyed. The thoughts came cascading back down, almost crushing her.

'…by the Dominion.' Shalimar finished the sentence for her.

The four of them stood there, none of them saying a word, each reflecting on the night's events.

'What are we going to do? We need to get Adam back. We need a game plan and…'

'Come on Shal, lets not get into this now.' Jesse interrupted.

'Not get into this now? Shalimar said somewhat angrily. 'Jesse, the Dominion is going to be sending all available agents to find us, who, if you haven't noticed, have no home, no transportation, no money. We need to talk about this, we need a plan.'

'I'm not disputing that. I'm just saying that I think we should, as Brennan said, get cleaned up and take a breather before we decide upon anything rash.' Jesse shot back irritated.

'Ok, lets just all take it easy,' Lexa said attempting to break up the quarrel. She looked at Brennan for help. Her and Brennan were not used to being the mediators, it was usually them doing the fighting.

'Jesse's right Shal.' Brennan said, lifting Shalimar's head up so as to look her in the eye 'Let's get ourselves a room and rest for a bit before we decide anything ok? Everyone agreed?'

'Agreed.' Jesse and Lexa said in unison.

'Agreed,' Shalimar mumbled disgruntled.

'Good.' Said Brennan satisfied. 'Now I don't know about you guys, but I could do with mars bar and a sit down!' He said, trying to lighten the tone.

The others nodded in agreement. Brennan took Shalimar's hand and set off in the direction of The Mermaid, with Jesse following close behind.

Lexa remained rooted to the spot for a moment, staring out into the darkness. Shalimar was right; they needed to find Adam, as soon as possible. In her mind, the words of the Dominion suit played over and over again; _'Your expiry date is… fast approaching,'_ he had said. Fast approaching? What did that mean? Was it in a month, a week…a day? Did the Creator, in fact, have a cure? Her mind was filled with questions, ones that she had no answers to She was scared; there was no denying it.

'I'm not ready to die,' she thought to herself. 'There are so many things I still have to do. So many things I still have to say, to Brennan and Shal…to Jesse.' What if I die before getting to tell him how I really feel?' She felt the sting of tears in her eyes thinking about it. She had to take down the Dominion and she had to find Adam, and she didn't have much time to do it in by the sounds of it…

'Lexa,' her thoughts were by broken by his voice, 'You coming?'

'Yeah.' She replied. And with that, she took one last look out into the darkness before hading after the rest of the team.


	3. Chapter 3

Amy Green was spending another boring night sat behind the check in desk at The mermaid Motel. 'This has to be the most boring job in the world,' she thought gazing at nothing in particular. However stirred from her sleep like trance as she saw four figures approaching and then opening the front door with a loud creak. She looked at the four people standing in front of her. There were two women and two men, a dark and blonde of each, and they all had to be in their late twenties. However, the woman was slightly taken aback at their appearances.

All four looked tired and worn; the dark haired woman was particularly pale. Their clothes were tattered and torn and they had what looked to be dirt or soot smeared on their faces. Cuts and scrapes were visible on the skin they had showing, and the dark haired man was clutching his arm which appeared to be bleeding. 'God,' the woman thought to herself, 'they look like they've been at war.'

As they made their way to the desk the woman tried not to stare. Once the four had reached the desk the blonde woman spoke,

'Hi. We were wondering if you possibly had a room for us?' she half asked, half pleaded.

'Hang on just a second,' Amy said. 'Ummm, we have a room with two doubles if that's any good?'

'We'll take it.' The blonde said almost instantly, none of having the strength to even contemplate arguing.

Amy reached back and took a single key off of a hook.

'It's room 7. Just out of the main door and across the yard to the right.' She said friendly.

'Thanks,' the blonde said gratefully, as the other three smiled in appreciation.

Amy smiled back and then continued to watch them as they left. 'I wonder what their deal is?' she said to herself. Well, at least that would give her something to think about for the rest of her shift.

The four members of Mutant X approached the door of room 7. Shalimar unlocked the door and turned the handle. The room before them was of average size; it had two queen-sized beds, along with a television and a sofa. It also had a small kitchen and a bathroom in a room off the main one.

Almost immediately after they had entered and shut the door, Lexa hurried forwards and collapsed onto the nearest bed with an exhausted groan. The others quickly followed her example; Brennan and Shalimar collapsed onto the furthest bed and Lexa rolled over to make room for Jesse on hers. They all lay there in silence, each lost in own thoughts, namely those about their current situation. However, the silence was broken by an exclamation from Brennan.

'Man, I'm starving!'

Lexa and Jesse both let out a laugh from their side of the room while Shalimar hit him playfully on his uninjured arm.

'Trust you to be thinking about your stomach at a time like this!' She giggled.

'I can't help it, a man needs to eat!' Brennan replied.

'Well, I think I saw a 24hour store across the lot.' Shalimar said. 'How about Brennan and I go and get some food and other supplies and you two stay and start cleaning yourselves up? She proposed, looking at Lexa and Jesse.

'Sounds like a good plan.' Said Jesse, looking at Lexa who nodded her approval.

'Ok then,' said Brennan heading towards the door and opening it.

'We'll see you in a bit,' Shalimar said, and she closed the door behind her, leaving Jesse and Lexa alone.

'So, you want the first shower,' Lexa asked.

'No, it's ok, ladies first,' Jesse said.

'Thanks,' Lexa smiled weakly at him and headed into the bathroom.

'Hey Lex,' Jesse called after her. Lexa turned back to face him. 'Are you ok?' he asked. 'Well, besides the obvious that is.'

'Yeah,' she said, though not looking him in the eye, 'I'm fine.' And with that she closed the door behind her.

Jesse sighed and dropped down onto the bed. Something was bothering her, he could tell.

Lexa turned the tap on the shower and the water started to pour down. She undressed, wincing in pain at her aching muscles. She looked in the mirror, staring at her reflection. Her long dark hair was matted and although stricken with a mixture of dirt and blood her face was pale, and she had large dark circles forming under her eyes. Her body was covered in scratches and bruises were beginning to form; a result of the collapse of the dominion building and their escape through the forest. Steam was beginning to form on the mirror, blurring her reflection, letting her know that the water was hot enough. She stepped into the shower and pulled back the curtain. She stood there letting the boiling hot water cascade down on her, soothing her aching body. Again, her mind wandered to the words of the Dominion agent, _'Your expiry date is…fast approaching.'_

Forcing herself to snap out of it, she ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to remove knots caused by the blood and dirt. She took the bar of soap from the soap tray and began to clean away the traces of the night's battle. Once she was satisfied that she was dirt-free she turned off the shower, grabbed a towel from the rail and stepped out of the shower. She gently dried herself and then wrapped the towel around her body and exited the bathroom.

Jesse had heard the water stop running and sat up, waiting for Lexa to come out. She emerged a few minutes later; she was wrapped in a towel and her long, dark hair lay wet and now slightly wavy down her back. A bit of the colour had returned to her face, and any make-up remaining on her face had been washed away. Catching Jesse staring, Lexa blushed a deep crimson colour. Seeing this, Jesse tore his eyes away and forced himself to look in the other direction. He cleared his throat and then spoke.

'Uh, Shal and Brennan dropped off some clothes for us before the went to get the food stuff.' Jesse said, still staring at the wall. 'Yours are on the bed there.'

'Thanks,' said Lexa. 'No peeking now!'

Jesse smiled. 'Can't promise anything!'

Lexa playfully rolled her eyes at his response and began to change into the clothes that Brennan and Shalimar had left for her. She pulled on the grey sweat pants and dark blue tank top and then turned around.

'Ok, you can stop starring at the wall now. Any longer and you're going to burn a hole in it anyway!'

Jesse smiled at her remark and turned to face her again.

'Not so nice with scruffy clothes scraggly hair and no make-up huh?' Said Lexa, forcing a laugh.

'Actually, I was just thinking the opposite.' Jesse said looking her in the eye. 'You look more beautiful than ever.' He got up off the bed and moved to where she was standing.

'Now you're either a liar or a charmer. Which one is?' Lexa asked trying to hide her embarrassment.

'Neither,' he replied. 'I'm just telling it how it is.'

Lexa smiled, but no sooner than she had it faded and her eyes were filled with sadness.

'Lexa what is it?' Jesse asked her. She could her the concern in his voice.

'Its…Its just,' Lexa once again felt the tears sting her eyes. 'Earlier tonight, back at the Dominion when the council were interrogating me, they…' Lexa stopped, the tears in her eyes threatening to flow.

'Did they hurt you?' Jesse said, suddenly becoming angered.

'No, nothing like that.' Lexa said. 'They…they were talking about…about my expiry date.' She could barely contain the tears.

Jesse looked at the woman in front of him; this wasn't the tough, independent Lexa he knew, the one who always had such a wall around her to stop her feelings from showing through. The Lexa in front of him afraid and vulnerable; her wall was cracking.

'They said that my expiry date was _'fast approaching.' _She said, wiping the tears from her eyes only to have more form. 'Jesse, all my life I've been alone, been an outsider. I've never had any place that I've been able to call home.' She said, her voice shaking.

'But then I found you guys, I found Mutant X. I was finally accepted for who I was. I found friends…people to love.' She looked him in the eye at her last sentence. 'And I'm not ready to lose that. I don't want to die.' By this time the tears were flowing freely down her cheeks.

Jesse brought a hand up to Lexa's face and wiped the tears away. He lifted her chin so that she was looking him in the eye.

'Lexa listen to me. I know you're scared, we all are. But, you don't have to face this alone. You've got Shal, you've got Brennan…you've got me. Like it or not you've got me now and I would never, ever let anything bad happen to you. We are going to fix this. We will destroy the Dominion and we will find Adam' He said, stroking her cheek. 'I am going to save you.'

Lexa looked at his and saw the determination in his eyes.

'You're pretty amazing, you know that?' Lexa said.

'Well, I've been told that a couple of times but…' he joked. Lexa hit him playfully on the chest.

'Seriously though Jess,' Lexa said, looking him in the eye. 'Thanks.'

They held each other's gaze, neither looking away. Lexa took hold of the front of Jesse's shirt and he stepped forwards, closing the gap between them. Noses touching, Jesse could felt his heart race, and Lexa the same. Not able to resist any longer, Jesse leaned in the last little bit and brushed her lips with his. Feeling his lips on hers sent a rush coursing through Lexa's body. She kissed him back gently at first, until she could no longer bear it. The wall she had built around her all these years finally crumbled and a year's worth of pent up tension broke loose. Lexa pushed Jesse against the wall and she kissed him furiously; Jesse was only too willing to reciprocate. However, they had been so caught up in each other that they had failed to notice Shalimar and Brennan enter the room. Shalimar giggled to herself as Brennan cleared his throat loudly. Jesse and Lexa broke apart.

'Shal, Brennan.' Jesse said breathlessly while Lexa looked down at the floor, he face turning the colour of a beetroot. 'How long have you been standing there?' Jesse asked, also slightly embarrassed.

'Not too long.' Said Brennan clearly amused. 'We've been standing outside for ages. Shal insisted that you two needed to 'sort things out.' Shalimar punched Brennan on the arm for telling on her.

'Thanks Bren.' She said. 'Although, judging from what we walked in on it clearly worked!' She and Brennan started laughing again.

An hour later, they had all showered and changed into their clean clothes. They were now gathered around the small table finishing off their dinner of macaroni and cheese.

'So down to business,' Shalimar said. 'What are we going to do now?'

'Yeah, we can't hide out here forever.' Said Brennan.

'Well, before we can even think about heading back into the Dominion we need to set up some kind of permanent base. We need transport, weapons, gear, computers most of all.' Said Jesse.

'And where exactly are we going to get all of that.' Sighed Shalimar.

'Oh, I think I know somewhere,' Lexa smiled.


	4. Chapter 4

'_Oh, I think I know somewhere,' Lexa smiled._

'What? Where?' Said Brennan in a somewhat disbelieving voice. Shalimar and Jesse were also giving her very puzzled looks.

'Well, I have a place up here. I suppose you could call it a cottage of sorts. It's up in the mountains, impossible to find unless you know exactly where to look. Its fully equipped, it has computers, a training room, even a small lab.' Lexa finished.

The rest of Mutant X sat staring at her in silence, not quite believing what they had just been told.

'Lexa, if you're messing with us right now I'm going to kick your ass,' said Brennan.

Lexa raised her arms up in her defence. 'I swear, it's true!'

There was another moments silence then Shalimar spoke up, 'Hang on a minute. How come the Dominion don't know about this place?' she asked.

'Come on Shal, you know me better than that.' Lexa said with a grin. 'I never reveal all my secrets.' Shalimar smiled at the truth of Lexa's last comment.

'So, the Dominion know nothing about this place? You're absolutely sure?' Brennan questioned.

'Yep, completely and absolutely sure.' Lexa affirmed.

'Because it'll be our lives on the line if you're wrong…'

'Brennan, shut up will you,' Lexa interrupted. 'I'm one hundred percent sure.'

Brennan crossed his arms in a huff at being told to shut up, amusing the others.

'So, that's why you transported us up here to Canada in the first place. You were trying to get us to your place?' Jesse half stated, half asked.

'Exactly. Although I was rustier than I anticipated. I was off on the location a bit, its further North than where we are now.'

'So, I figure that I try again in the morning, after we've all had a good night's sleep. Then once we get there we can recuperate from tonight's battle, there's no point in charging full blast ahead on an attack when we're all still weak like this. I'll get in touch with some of my non-dominion contacts on finding Adam and then we can figure out where we go from there.' Lexa finished.

The other three sat in awe. 'Wow Lex, you've got this all figured out haven't you!' Brennan said impressed. Lexa smiled proudly.

'You're amazing, you know that?' Said Jesse

'Well, I've been told that a couple of times but…' Lexa said imitating Jesse's earlier words. Jesse and Lexa both looked at each other and laughed.

Shalimar looked at Brennan who just shrugged.

'Well, as much as I enjoy seeing you two go all gooey eyed…' Brennan joked at the couple, 'I am in serious need of some shut-eye.' He got up from the table and collapsed onto one of the beds.

'I didn't think I'd ever say this, but for once Brennan, I agree with you!' Lexa quipped.

The others laughed and Brennan threw his pillow at Lexa. She caught it and threw it back, hitting him in the head. This caused them all to erupt in even more laughter.

Once they had calmed down they all began to climb wearily into bed. Shalimar was snuggling close to Brennan in one and Jesse had just pulled back the covers of the other.

'I'm just going to the bathroom.' Lexa said. Jesse nodded in acknowledgement and Lexa smiled warmly at him before closing the door behind her.

Lexa quickly brushed her teeth and then washed up. She was about to reach for the door handle when she noticed that her hand was shaking. She brought her other hand up in front of her; that was trembling to. As she watched her hands shake she could have sworn she saw them begin to glow slightly. She blinked and waved her hands about. 'It's been a long day and you're tired.' She told herself. 'You're imagining things.'

With that she opened the door and walked back into the main room. By the look of things Shalimar and Brennan were already asleep. She went over to the bed where Jesse was lying and climbed in next to him.

'Sweet dreams.' Jesse whispered to her. Lexa smiled to herself and moved to rest her head on Jesse's chest and he wrapped his arms around her. Feeling the safety and comfort of being in his arms Lexa felt her eyes grow heavy and close, and it wasn't long before all four of them were fast asleep.

Brennan was the first to wake up the next morning. He smiled when he saw Shalimar lying next to him. Brennan then looked over at Jesse and Lexa, and he couldn't help but chuckle at what he saw. Lexa was curled up close to Jesse with her head on his chest. 'Yep, she's snuggling!' Brennan laughed to himself. He smiled as he thought of how much Lexa had changed over the past year. When she had first joined Mutant X Lexa was cold and disconnected, she hadn't wanted to be there, she would never have dared to show any sign of affection towards anyone. But looking at the Lexa in front of him now he saw a completely different person. Now, curled up in Jesse's arms, she looked content and comfortable. She was one of the team.

Sensing Brennan's movement, Shalimar stirred gently from her sleep. She looked up to see Brennan smiling at the couple next to them. 'You're such a big softy!' She laughed.

'Oh come on, they're cute!' Brennan said defensively. Shalimar just gave him an amused look. 'Morning by the way.' He leant down and planted a kiss on her lips. 'Morning,' she smiled back.

'Do you think we should wake them?' Shalimar asked Brennan. 'I know Lex wanted to get going quite early.'

'It seems a shame to disturb them though.' Brennan said.

'See what did I tell you,' Shalimar laughed. 'You're soft!'

'Fine,' Brennan huffed, 'I'll wake them.'

An hour later all four members of Mutant X were dressed and ready to go.

'Everybody set?' Lexa asked looking around at her teammates. All three of them nodded in agreement. 'Everybody hold on tight then,' she said. With that the world around them disappeared and they were surrounded by light. Merely seconds later their feet hit the ground again and the world returned to normal. Lexa opened her eyes and looked around. Seeing the familiar mountain scene, she smiled to herself; it had worked. She felt staggered backwards slightly, again weakened from the use of that particular power. But this time she felt a hand on her back and she remained upright. She turned her head to see Jesse standing behind her.

'I've got you this time,' he said to her. Lexa took his hand and gave it a grateful squeeze.

Regaining her balance, Lexa looked around at her other teammates. Brennan stood rooted to spot, staring at his surroundings in awe. Shalimar on the other hands was walking around, beaming at her surroundings.

'Wow Lex, it's beautiful here.' She gasped.

Jesse, who had not yet taken in where they were, began to look around. They were fairly high up in the mountains, the air was fresh and crisp. They were standing in what appeared to be some kind of meadow. The grass was quite long; he could just about make out the path running through it. There were wild flowers dotted all around, all different colours; reds, yellows, purples, pinks, oranges, a rainbow-like assortment. There were patches of trees on both sides as well, and Jesse was sure he could here the trickling of a stream or river near by. Shalimar had been right; it was beautiful.

'Come on, it's this way,' said Lexa, who was amused by her friend's reactions. She started walking up the slight hill they were on and the others followed. A couple of minutes later they reached the top of the hill, and that's when they saw it. On the other side was Lexa's cottage, although she had been modest in calling it a cottage. It had two stories and was more the size of two very large cottages put together. It had old-fashioned cobblestone walls with ivy and flowers growing up them, a large wooden door and the windows had coloured, wooden shutters.

'It looks like it's come straight out of a fairytale book!' Shalimar said, still beaming.

'I suppose you want to see inside?' Lexa laughed.

'Hell yeah!' Said Brennan. He grabbed Shalimar's hand and set of at a run down the hill. Lexa and Jesse both laughed at the pair and they too set off towards the cottage. Once they had all gathered down in front of the house, Lexa stepped forwards toward the door. She reaches through the ivy covering the wall nearby and pressed a button that it concealed. One of the cobblestones slid aside revealing a keypad and some kind of scanner.

'Installed some of your own mod cons I see Lex!' Said Jesse in an impressed voice.

'You bet!' She replied typing a sequence into the keypad. A green light flashed and next the scanner came to life. It scanned horizontally across Lexa's eyes and then vertically. Then, a second green light flashed and there was the sound of locks turning and chains sliding. Lexa then reached for the door handle and turned it.

'Welcome to my humble abode,' She said opening the door and motioning them inside.

They went inside one by one. Although it still had the same quaint look as the outside, the décor of inside the house was more modern. In fact, as Shalimar looked around she was reminded of Sanctuary.

'Here is the living room and dining room, the kitchen is through the door straight ahead. Down the hall are the lab and computer room, one double bedroom and a bathroom. Upstairs we have two more bedrooms, another bathroom, the training room and the arsenal room.' Lexa finished.

'Lexa…this is so cool!' Brennan exclaimed causing the rest of them to laugh.

Half an hour later Lexa had given them the grand tour and each of them had set about their own business; Brennan had settled himself in front of the plasma television, Shalimar was in the gym and Jesse in the Lab and Computer room.

Lexa, meanwhile, was in her bedroom on the phone with one of her contacts.

'Yeah. And remember, finding Adam Kane is top priority right now. Yeah…uh huh…ok that'd be great. Thanks a lot, hope to hear from you soon. Bye.' She hung up the phone and threw it onto the bed. She had called all the non-dominion contacts she had, and all of them had promised to do all they could to locate Adam. Lexa felt pleased with herself; hopefully they were one step closer to finding Adam.

Later that night, the four of them were all sitting around the dining room table, just having finished their meal. Their new living arrangement was still the topic of conversation.

'I still can't believe you've been holding out on us all this time Lex. I mean, this place is sweet.' Brennan said admiringly. Before Lexa could reply she heard her cell phone ring from her bedroom.

'I'd better get that.' She got up and rushed to her room. She picked up the phone and answered. 'Hello? Yeah, you have? You've found Adam? That was fast! Where? Yep, hang on.' Lexa rummaged around in the drawer of her dresser for a pen and a piece of paper. 'Ok, shoot… Ok, got it.' Lexa scrawled down the address as her contact recited it. 'Listen, you have no idea what this means. Thank you so much. I owe you big time…yeah I'll remember that, don't you worry. Ok, thanks again.' She hung up and once again threw the phone back down on her bed.

Lexa couldn't help but smile to herself. They had Adam's location. She hadn't imagined that her contacts would get back to her so soon.

She began the walk across the room, eager to tell the others what she had just found out; they too would no doubt be delighted. But as she walked she began to feel light headed and dizzy. She stopped as she was hit with a wave of nausea. She looked down at her hands and they were once again shaking. However, it did not stop this time as it had done yesterday night. To her horror she felt the whole of her arms begin to tremor. She staggered backward and fell to the floor. As she hit the hard floor with a thud her whole body went into convulsions. Barely able to lift her head from the convulsions, Lexa looked down at the rest of her body. Her skin had turned translucent and there was a bright glow emanating from inside of her. Gradually the convulsions began to lessen and die down. Lexa's body continued twitching for a moment then her head rolled to the side and hit the floor and she lay there lifeless.


	5. Chapter 5

'Lex? Lexa are you ok in there?' Jesse called from outside the door.

Hearing her name, Lexa stirred. She got up slowly and propped herself up against the bed.

'Lexa?'

'Yeah, I'll there in a minute Jess,' Lexa called out weakly, and she heard Jesse retreat back to the living room and rejoin the others.

Lexa sat there, trying to regain her strength a little. She brought a hand up to her head, which was now pounding. A lump had begun to form where she had hit it on the hard floor. She got slowly up of the bed and walked into the bathroom. Turning the cold tap on, she lowered her head to the sink and splashed clod water onto her face several times. Then, dabbing her face dry she looked at herself in the mirror. Staring at her reflection she couldn't bring herself to believe what had just happened. But, the horrible truth was, it had started. She could feel her body tearing apart, it was shutting down; her expiration time had arrived.

Just as she was about to give up hope, she remembered what she had been doing before this had happened. She had been talking on her phone to one of her contacts. 'Adam,' she said to herself and hurried back into the bedroom. She got down on the floor, urgently looking for the scrap of paper onto which she had scrawled down the location. She breathed a sigh of relieve when she spotted it a few feet away. She picked it up and held it tightly in her hand. 'It's going to be fine. You've found Adam, now you can go and get him and he can fix you. You're strong, you can hang in there a couple more hours.' Lexa tried to convince herself.

Taking one last deep breath, Lexa left the room and rushed to find the others.

'Guys?' she shouted.

'In here Lex,' she heard Shalimar call from the living room. Lexa hurried in there and stood so she was facing all of her friends.

'We've found Adam!' Lexa said flustered.

'What? Already?' Shalimar said leaping off of the sofa.

'Yeah, that was fast Lex. They're some good contacts you've got there.' Brennan said.

'You expected differently,' Jesse piped up. Lexa smiled weakly at him.

'So, where is he?' Shalimar asked. Lexa handed Shalimar the piece of paper with the address on. Brennan and Jesse moved behind Shalimar and studied it over her shoulder.

'This is pretty far from here. There's no way we could make it by car anytime soon, and by then they could've moved him.' Brennan stated. 'You think you could be our means of transport again Lex?'

'Of course. Do you even have to ask?' Lexa replied.

'Well, like Brennan said, they could move Adam at any time. I think we should head in there as soon as possible,' said Shalimar.

'Agreed,' Lexa hastily added. Jesse looked at her suspiciously but she avoided his gaze.

'Well then, how about we hit them come daybreak?' Brennan suggested. 'I don't think they'll be expecting a retaliation this soon so hopefully we'll have the upper hand.'

Everyone nodded in agreement. 'It's set then, we move in at first light.' Lexa said, still sounding somewhat off.

'Right, I'll try and download the building's floor plans, try and figure out our best way in and the most likely place they're holding Adam.' Jesse said.

'Good idea man,' said Brennan. 'Then I think we should all call it a night.'

The group discussed strategies for a little while longer before Brennan and Shalimar headed off to their room. 'Night guys,' the called out

'Night,' Jesse and Lexa called back in unison as they heard the door close.

'Well, I'm going to follow suit I think,' Lexa said, rising slowly to feet. She still felt weak after her earlier episode and so desperately needed some sleep.

'Don't stay up too long,' Lexa said to Jesse. She kissed him lightly on the lips and then headed towards her room.

'I won't,' Jesse smiled at her. She took a few more steps when she heard Jesse's voice call after. 'Hey Lex…' he said, 'Are you ok? You seem a bit…off.'

'I'm fine, really. Just tired and…you know…' she hesitated, '…eager to get Adam back here.'

'Are you sure that's all?' he pushed further.

'Jesse…' Lexa walked back over to where Jesse was standing. 'I'm fine,' she said. 'Stop worrying.' She kissed him reassuringly on the lips. 'Now, get the plans and then come to bed ok?'

Jesse nodded, and then Lexa turned once again and walked towards her room. She went in and closed the door behind her. She leant back against it and ran a hand through her hair. She hated lying to him, to all of them. But she had no choice. Telling them would only cause them to worry and it could jeopardise tomorrow's mission. The mission had to be a success, finding Adam was Lexa's only hope.

The four members of Mutant X awoke when it was still dark the next morning. The quickly got up and readied themselves for their upcoming mission. Jesse had been successful in getting hold of the building plans so they now knew where they would enter the building. They had also narrowed down the place where Adam was being held to one of two rooms.

An hour after they had awoken, Mutant X were gathered outside their new home.

'Right, everybody ready?' Lexa asked once again. Here three teammates nodded.

'Let's go then.' Not needing to be told, they took hold of Lexa. Then, they felt the now familiar sensation of the ground falling away at the feet and being surrounded by the blinding light.

Less than a minute later, the four of them felt their feet hit the ground. They looked up at the building in front of them. This was the place; they had made it.

'Right, does everybody know what they're doing?' Brennan asked, and they all nodded apprehensively. Shalimar and Brennan headed towards the door but Lexa stayed back.

'Jess, can I just talk to you, it'll only take a second,' Lexa said to him.

'Sure what is it?' Jesse asked curiously.

'Well, I just wanted you to know…in case things don't go to plan…I…' She stuttered, struggling to get the words out.

'I…I love you Jesse. I love you more than you will ever know, and I'm so grateful that I found you,' she finished.

'I love you too Lexa, more than anything.' He leant in and kissed her, and she kissed him back.

'I just wanted you to know.' Lexa said. Jesse looked into her eyes and saw that they were filled with sadness.

'Lexa, this isn't goodbye. You know that right.' Jesse told her. Lexa smiled sadly at him.

'Guys, are you coming?' Shalimar whispered hurriedly to them.

'Yeah, we'll be right there,' Lexa called back. 'Come on,' she said to Jesse, and then they too made their way over to the door.

They stood there for a couple of minute of minutes, Shalimar with her ear to the door, listening for when the coast was clear.

'Right, Lexa, Jesse, you're up.' Shalimar whispered.

'Be careful.' Brennan said.

'Yeah, you too,' Jesse replied. He then put a hand to the door, breathed out, and phased it.

Lexa then took his hand and made them invisible, then the walked through the door inside. Once they were inside the door materialised again.

The pair then made their way, silently and unseen, up the hall. They came to a door on their right. Again Jesse phased the door and they passed through it. Jesse shut his eyes just in time before Lexa created a blinding light, so as to dazzle anyone who may have been in the room. Luckily it had been uncalled for; the room was empty. Lexa made them visible and then Jesse hurried over to the computer that sat on the desk in the far corner of the room. He started typing away, as Lexa listened at the door for anyone approaching.

A few minutes had past when Lexa heard movement from outside.

'Jesse, we've got company,' Lexa said urgently.

'Ok,' he said typing one last sequence. 'I'm done.' He got up and hurried over to where Lexa was standing. She made them invisible just as the door swung open and an agent walked in. Neither of them dared to breath as he walked past them. He headed across the room to one of the filing cabinets, removed a file and then, much to Lexa and Jesse's relief, exited the room.

'That was close.' Jesse breathed a sigh of relief. Lexa nodded, letting out the air she had held in since the agent had entered the room.

'Guy's the security feeds are looped.' Jesse said into his com ring.

'Ok Jess,' he heard Brennan reply. 'We'll head to the lab; you guys head towards the holding room. Let us know if you find anything.'

'Likewise,' Jesse finished.

Lexa and Jesse set off towards the holding room where they suspected Adam might be being held. They rounded the last corner and saw the door ahead of them. The looked at each other and rushed towards it. Jesse, once again, phased the door and they walked through into the room. To Lexa's disappointment, the room was empty.

'Damn it.' Lexa said angrily.

'Don't worry, it's not over yet,' Jesse said calmly. 'Guys, we've got nothing here,' he said into his com ring.

'We're just approaching the lab now. Fingers crossed.' Brennan said back. He and Shalimar reached the door of the lab. Brennan hit the electronic lock with a small burst of electricity and the LED flashed green. Shalimar took a sharp intake of breath and pushed open the door.

She went in first and gasped at what she saw. The room was huge; there were computers, scanners, screens, and hi-tech chemistry sets, everything a geneticist could possibly need. In the center of the room was a large hologram of a double helix of DNA, much like the one they had seen the creator playing with at the old Dominion HQ. Shalimar let out a gasp as she saw a solitary figure, adjusting the hologram.

'Adam!'


	6. Chapter 6

Upon hearing his name Adam looked up. Her and Brennan rushed over to meet him.

'Shalimar, Brennan…' Adam said in amazement. 'How did you find me? How did you get here? Is Jesse here?' He paused slightly, 'And what about Lexa?'

'They're here. As, for everything else, we'll fill you in later.' Brennan said. 'Right now we've got to get out of here.'

'Guys?' They heard Lexa's voice over their com rings. 'Anything?' She asked desperately.

'Yeah Lex, we've got him. We've got Adam.' Shalimar replied excitedly.

'Thank God,' Lexa sighed. 'Right, lets get out of here. We'll meet you back where we came in.'

'You've got it.' Brennan said, and he and Shalimar began to head to the door.

'Wait,' Adam called after them. He rushed over to the workstation he had been positioned at and hurriedly put a memory stick in the back of the computer. He keyed in a few requests and downloaded all of the research he had done over the past couple of days.

'Ok,' he said removing the memory stick. 'Now, we can go.' They began to run back the way they had come. Shalimar leading, they began their decent down a flight of stairs. However, Shalimar's eyes glowed yellow and she motioned for the other two to back against the wall. She pointed downward and seconds later Brennan and Adam heard the sound of footsteps coming from below. Brennan formed a tesslar coil and was just about to fire when Jesse and Lexa appeared at the foot of the stairs below them.

'Jeez, I nearly fried you guys,' Brennan said.

'Jesse…Lexa,' Adam said, pleased to see them. The two smiled at him. 'Are you ok?' He aimed more at Lexa, giving her a knowing look.

Lexa nodded, 'Oh God,' she thought to herself, 'He knows.'

Luckily, before he could press her further, Brennan spoke up. 'We need to move. Someone's bound to have realised you're gone by now.

However, it had appeared that Brennan had spoken too soon. No sooner than he had finished his last sentence, the sound of alarms began blaring throughout the whole building. They all simply looked at each other and then raced down the stairs toward the exit.

It wasn't long before they heard voices and the sound of hurried footsteps behind them and below them. A team of Dominion agents appeared below them so they turned to run back up only to come face to face with another team. They were trapped.

'Ah, Mutant X. We thought you might be paying us a visit.' Said the agent apparently leading the troops in a smug voice.

'So thought you'd send out the welcome party? We're flattered,' Lexa retorted sarcastically.

'And I see you managed to find Mr. Kane here,' he said motioning towards Adam. 'To bad your efforts will be put waste.'

'Oh yeah, and why's that exactly?' Brennan shot back.

'Because you're not leaving here alive,' the agent replied cruelly.

'Yeah? Well forgive me, but I'll believe it when I see it thanks,' Lexa said coolly.

The agent laughed. 'You seem to be forgetting Miss Pierce, that your powers are of no use to you, not when we're wearing these handy little numbers,' he said pointing to his power proof suit.

Lexa was about to say something back when she felt that all too familiar sense of light-headedness and wave of nausea. 'Oh no,' she said desperately, 'Not now…'

Without warning she the tremors began and her skin started to glow translucently once again.

'What the hell?' The smug Dominion agent gasped.

Lexa staggered back against the wall as she shook even more violently.

'Lexa!' Jesse rushed forwards and tried to hold her, but to no avail due to her flailing limbs.

'Oh God, it's happening,' Adam said horrified.

'What?' Jesse yelled desperately. 'What's happening?'

'Today, her expiry date is today.' Jesse looked at him in horror and then to Lexa.

Shalimar looked up at Brennan, tears forming in her eyes.

The Dominion agent saw this as an opportunity to move in. 'Well, what are you waiting for?' he said to his team. 'Contain them.' However the team did not respond, they all appeared too reluctant to move any closer to Lexa. The light emanating from her body had grown brighter and more intense and the shaking was more violent that ever.

'Adam, what's happening to her?' Shalimar wailed.

'Her DNA, her cells, her body it's being torn apart…she's self destructing.' Adam stuttered.

Jesse looked at her helplessly, and then Lexa grabbed his arm. 'Jesse,' she stammered, 'Mass out.'

'What?'

'Just do it.' Lexa yelled. She cried out in pain and Jesse massed out himself, and the others, just before the light consumed the whole of the landing.

Adam and the remaining three members of Mutant X closed their eyes, and all they could hear were the screams coming from the Dominion.

Seconds later the light was gone and they opened their eyes. Lexa, writhing in pain, had collapsed on the floor in front of them, and the two Dominion teams that had surrounded them were all lying dead on the floor, burnt beyond all recognition.

'Oh God!' Shalimar said seeing their bodies.

Jesse dived down on the floor next to Lexa and lifted her into his arms. 'Lexa?' he said stroking her hair. 'Lexa, talk to me.'

'Jesse?' Lexa croaked. 'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I…that I didn't tell you, its just I…I didn't want you to worry.'

'Shhhh, it's ok. It doesn't matter now.' Said Jesse choked, cradling Lexa and holding her close to him.

'Adam, you figured out how to fix this right?' Brennan said sounding panicked. 'You know how stabilize our DNA?'

'Well yes, but I'll need a lab and the right equipment.' He said.

'Well, we can't exactly hang around here and do it. There'll be more where these guys came from,' Brennan said, grimacing as he looked at the piles of bodies. 'Our best bet is getting Lexa back to the cottage.'

'Where?' Adam asked confused.

'Lexa has a place in the Canadian mountains. Its where we've been hiding out the last couple of days.' Shalimar told him, though not taking her eyes off Lexa.

'Canada? Wait, so how did you get here?' Adam asked, the confusion becoming more apparent in his voice.

'Lexa brought us here, she can travel at the speed of light.'

'What?' Adam said.

'Look, enough with the Q&A session ok. We need to figure out what we're going to do, not just stand around talking about it.' Jesse yelled angrily.

'Jesse, you think I don't want to save Lexa? Just calm down ok…'

'Don't tell me to calm down Adam. The woman I love is dying, so don't you dare tell me to be calm.' Jesse yelled back.

'Jess…' Lexa said softly, touching his arm in comfort.

Adam looked slightly taken aback at what Jesse had said. 'The woman he loved?' Adam thought to himself. He snapped himself out of it.

'Well Lexa, even if you could muster up the strength to take us back, there's no saying that using your powers wouldn't just speed up the process.' Adam warned her.

'And if I don't, I'm dead anyway.' Lexa said tearfully. 'I have to do this.' With the help of Jesse and Shalimar she got to her feet. Once she was up she leant on Jesse, she could barely stand by herself.

'Are you sure you're ok to do this Lex?' Shalimar asked. Lexa nodded weakly in response. Shalimar shot a glance at Jesse, who was holding desperately onto Lexa.

'Ok then.' Lexa said weakly. 'Everybody hold on.' Lexa closed her eyes and mustered up all the energy she had left in her, and for what could be the last time the world disappeared around them.

_Hi everybody. _

_Hope you like the latest chapter. Just wanted to let you know that I'm going away for the weekend so the next update will take a little longer this time. The next (and possibly final chapter) will probably be posted on Monday or Tuesday. Sorry about the wait, I know this chapter ended quite abruptly!_

_Please review after reading, I would be very grateful!_

LexaLane 


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry about the delay with this chapter, there won't be such a wait for the next, promise! Hope you enjoy this one, LexaLane._

Adam felt his feet hit the ground just seconds after they had left. He let go of Lexa and swayed backwards, slightly disorientated from the experience.

'That was incredible.' He breathed.

'It worked, we're here,' said Shalimar seeing the familiar hill up ahead of her, Lexa's place situated on the other side.

'Lexa? Lexa?' Jesse shouted placing a hand on her neck. 'There's no pulse,' he cried frantically.

'Stand back,' Brennan said stepping forwards.

Jesse gently lay Lexa down on the grass and then took a step back. Brennan knelt down next to her and fired a small bolt of electricity at her chest. He felt for a pulse but there was still nothing.

'Come on Lexa,' he said angrily. 'You're stronger than this.' He sent another, slightly more powerful shock to her heart. He felt for a pulse once more. 'She's back,' he sighed exasperated as Lexa stirred slightly.

Jesse let out noise that sounded half like a sigh and half like a sob and then picked Lexa up off the floor. 'Come on, let's go,' he said.

They moved as fast as they could up and then down the hill, Shalimar running ahead to open the door. Adam moved past her and was first to enter. He glanced around the place and was interrupted before he could fully take in his surroundings.

'Adam,' Jesse called ahead to him, 'the lab is the last room down the hall.'

'Right.' Adam called back and hurried down the hall, praying to himself that this 'lab' would have the right equipment and supplies. He opened the door and was pleasantly surprised by what he saw; he was reminded of the lab at sanctuary. 'Good…this is good,' he said to himself.

The others were not far behind and Jesse came in and placed Lexa in the chair in the center of the room.

'So, where do we start?' Jesse asked urgently.

'You don't start anywhere,' Adam replied. 'Jesse, this is a delicate and tricky procedure, it needs to be carried out with the utmost accuracy. There's no way you'd be able to keep a level head through this.' Adam said in response to Jesse's look of shock.

'Adam, I have to help, I…I can't just sit and do nothing,' Jesse said loudly.

'Yeah Adam, we care about Lexa. We're not just going to…' Shalimar started.

'Arguing with me right now is just wasting time,' Adam interrupted urgently. 'Now, if you really care about Lexa you'll go outside and let me get on with this.' Adam pleaded.

'Come on guys,' Brennan said, 'Adam's right, you know he is.' He put an arm around Shalimar and ushered her out of the room.

Jesse walked over to where Lexa lay in the chair. He gently pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and stroked her cheek lightly.

'I love you,' he whispered, kissing her on the forehead. He looked up from Lexa to Adam.

'Please, save her.' Adam nodded firmly at him, and then Jesse headed in the direction that Shalimar and Brennan had gone.

Once Jesse had left the room, Adam began to set up all of the things he would need.

'Please, let this work,' he said to himself.

Three hours later had past and Adam had still not emerged from the lab, not even to give them an update. The three remaining members of Mutant X were sitting around the dining table. Shalimar was sitting on a chair next to Brennan, who had a comforting arm around her. Jesse was sitting with his elbows on the table and his head in his hands, the same position he had been in for the last three hours.

Not able to sit for any longer Shalimar got up, 'I'm going to get a drink,' she said softly. 'Either of you want one?' She said to Brennan and Jesse.

'Yeah, I'll come and help,' Brennan said he too rising from his seat. 'Jess, you want anything?'

Jesse didn't reply or even look up. He remained with his head in his hands.

Shalimar looked sadly at Jesse then to Brennan and then proceeded to the kitchen. She put the kettle on to boil and then hoisted herself up to sit on the countertop.

'Brennan?' She said. Brennan turned around to look at her. 'You don't think that…that anything's gone wrong do you? I mean they've been in there for ages…' Shalimar said, the fear evident in her voice.

'Hey, you heard what Adam said,' he walked over to where Shalimar was sitting. 'It's a delicate procedure. Its no surprise that it should take a while.'

Shalimar nodded.

'Lexa is going to be fine.' Brennan said trying to comfort her.

'You don't know that', she said, tears brimming in her eyes.

'No, but I know Lexa. I know that she's strong and she's as stubborn as hell.' Shalimar let out a choked sob at Brennan latter comment.

'There's no way she's going anywhere without a fight,' Brennan finished.

Shalimar leant forwards to rest her head on Brennan's chest, and he kissed he top of her head.

Then, they heard a door open and then close again down the hall. Brennan and Shalimar looked at each other and then hurried out back into the dining room. When they entered they saw that Jesse was already on his feet and Adam was walking down the hallway towards them.

Shalimar clung onto Brennan as Adam approached, praying with all her might that it would be good news. She looked over at Jesse, whose face was completely drained of all colour

'What's going on? How's Lexa?' Brennan asked.

'Is…is she…' Jesse stuttered, not able to get the words out.

'I managed to stabilize her DNA. It was harder than I expected and there were some complications due the extent of the damage…' The team looked at Adam in horror as he said the word 'complications.'

'But, I was able to repair the damage and…' Adam paused smiling. 'She's going to fine.'

At hearing these words, Jesse brought his hands up to face and let out a muffled cry of relief. Shalimar jumped up and hugged Brennan, who was also smiling broadly.

'Can we see her?' Jesse asked eagerly.

'Sure,' Adam said smiling at the team. 'But go easy on her, she's still weak from the procedure.'

The other three hurried to the lab and burst through the door. Sure enough, Lexa was lying awake in the chair.

'Hey guys!' She said to them croakily. They ran over to her and hugged her simultaneously. 'Pleased to see me huh?' She laughed.

'You have no idea,' Jesse said leaning down to kiss her forehead. Lexa smiled and took his hand.

'That was a close one Lex,' said Shalimar

'Yeah, we thought we'd lost you there for a bit,' Brennan continued.

'Come on Brennan, you know me; I'm a tough cookie,' She said smiling at him. 'It's going to take more than self-destructing DNA to get rid of me.' They all laughed at Lexa's typical attitude.

Lexa winced as she laughed. 'Are you ok?' Jesse asked concerned.

'Don't worry I'm fine. Just a little fragile is all,' Lexa replied.

'You're going to feel like that from a while, you're going to need to take it easy for a while.' said Adam from the doorway. Lexa rolled her eyes at the suggestion that she take it easy.

'You've undergone a serious medical procedure Lexa, you're going to take some time to heal. So, it's bed rest for you for the next couple of days.' Adam said.

'But…' Lexa protested.

'No, buts!' Adam replied.

'Fine,' Lexa said, resigning from arguing.

'Good.' Adam smiled. 'Right, I'm going to give you guys some time to yourselves,' he said turning to leave.

'Adam,' Lexa called after him. 'Thanks, you know, for saving my life.' Lexa gave him a grateful smile.

'Your welcome,' he smiled. Just before he shut the door behind him he took watched the four members of Mutant X for a moment. They laughed at joked with one another, completely comfortable in each other's company. He still couldn't quite believe the recent developments within the team; Jesse and Lexa were a couple, and he had gathered that Shalimar and Brennan were too. Adam was glad that they were all happy, but at the same time he was filled with a kind of sadness, and the realisation that he wasn't part of the Mutant X team anymore.

Adam took one last look at the four of them and then closed the door silently behind him.


	8. Chapter 8

In the following week Adam performed the procedure to stabilize the genetic structure on Shalimar and Brennan as well; so all four members of Mutant X were officially out of the woods.

Lexa, despite constant complaints, had rested and was almost fully recovered.

Since their last encounter with the Dominion and rescuing Adam they had neither heard nor seen anything of them. So, Mutant X had more than willingly taken the opportunity to relax for a while.

Adam however had not adopted such a laid back attitude. He had spent most of his time cooped up in the lab or sat at a computer. The lack of retaliation from the Dominion worried him. He feared that the fact that there was no sign of activity from them meant that they were regrouping. He had spoken to some of his contacts and they had all confirmed as much. Adam had been putting off telling the others his theory but hearing his contacts confirm his suspicions he felt he had to tell them.

He got up from the computer and ran his hand through his scruffy, slightly greying hair.

'Here goes,' he said sombrely to himself, and he set off to find the others.

Lexa, Jesse, Shalimar and Brennan were outside, picnicking by the river not too far from their new home. They had a checked linen blanket laid out on the grass with food and drinks dotted about over it. Lexa was sitting on Jesse's lap leaning back against his chest, and Shalimar was leaning back, propping herself up by her elbows, and had her legs over Brennan.

It didn't taken Adam long to find the others, he had heard their laughing and chatting from just outside the cottage and followed it to down by the river. As he approached Adam thought once again how happy they all looked. It pained him to think that he would ruin that by bringing up the Dominion.

'Hey Adam!' Said Shalimar cheerily, seeing him walking towards them. 'Want to join us for lunch?'

'Umm, actually I was hoping to talk to you guys about something.' He said hesitantly.

'Sure, take a seat,' said Brennan, motioning to a clear area on the blanket.

Adam knelt down slowly, the other four looking at him curiously, wondering what he going to say.

He braced himself, and then spoke. 'Now, you're not going to like what I'm going to say…' He started.

'Oh man, what's happened now?' Jesse sighed.

'Is it to do with the Dominion?' Lexa asked, a worried look flashing in her eyes as she remembered their last encounter, and what she had done to all of those agent. Jesse squeezed her hand in comfort and she relaxed a little.

Adam nodded. 'It appears, and my contacts have confirmed this, that they are regrouping. They're preparing for an attack. So, I think you should start preparing, start getting ready.'

'Damn, don't they ever just stay down,' Brennan exclaimed. 'First we blow their headquarters to oblivion, then Lex slaughters half their men by barbequing them alive…'

'Brennan!' Lexa shouted at him, hitting him on the arm.

'Lex, I'm not saying it's a bad thing…'

'Yeah, but is it absolutely necessary to put it like that?' said Lexa. 'You're making it sound like I'm some kind of masochist. I did not 'barbeque them alive.'

'You kind of did sweetie,' said Jesse said to her. Lexa turned around in Jesse's lap to face him and gave him an unimpressed look.

'Ok,' said Jesse getting the hint, 'shutting up now!'

Shalimar and Brennan smiled at each other, amused at Jesse's backing down.

'Guys please; I don't think you understand the severity of the situation. '

'We understand Adam. The Dominion wants us dead, it's pretty simple to comprehend,' Shalimar replied.

'Yeah, and you know what, who cares.' Brennan said.

'Brennan…'Adam started.

'No Adam, Brennan's right,' Jesse interrupted. 'The Dominion have been screwing with us and messing with our lives for the past year now, and frankly I'm sick of it.'

'Me too,' said Lexa firmly. 'We shouldn't have to put our lives on hold for these guys any longer. When the Dominion comes knocking on our door for a fight we'll be ready and we'll give it to them. But we can't spend every waking moment until then sitting around waiting for it to happen.'

'We don't want these people dictating our lives anymore Adam.' Shalimar finished.

Adam sat for a while, thinking about what they had all said. Then he spoke, 'I trust you all, so if that's your decision then I respect it.' He got up and dusted of his knees. 'I'm going to head back to the lab. I'll see you all later,' and with that, he headed back up towards the house.

Adam was quiet for the rest of the day after the earlier confrontation. So, after dinner that night the other four decided to apologise.

'Hey Adam, wait up' Brennan called after him as he went to return to the lab. Adam stopped and turned around.

'Yeah?' He said.

'Well, we were thinking about earlier and we know that you're only trying to look out for us,' Shalimar said to him.

'And, we realise that what we said and the way we said it was probably a bit harsh…'Lexa continued.

'So, we wanted to apologise,' Jesse finished.

Adam smiled at the four of them standing in front of him.

'I appreciate it, but you have nothing to apologise for. If anything it's me who should be apologising.' He said. 'I thought about what you guys said too and I realised that you were right, I have been dictating your lives for too long…'

'Adam, what we said earlier, it wasn't aimed at you…' Shalimar cut in.

'I know, but I have been. We all know it, whether we like to admit it or not.' He said. 'That's why…I've decided to leave.'

'What?' All four of them exclaimed at once.

'You're leaving again?' Shalimar asked.

'Shalimar, I have no doubt in my mind that you will be fine without me. I've seen you in action over the past year, you don't need my help anymore.'

The rest of the group were silent, they all knew that what Adam had said was true.

'But there are mutants out there who I can help now that I know the stabilizing procedure,' he finished.

There was another moment's silence.

'When are you leaving?' Brennan asked.

'In the morning, I was hoping that you could give me a lift Lexa?' Adam replied.

'Of course,' Lexa smiled at him.

'Well then, I'm going to pack up all my things in the lab that I need. I'll see you in the morning,' said Adam, retreating down the hallway.

By ten o clock the next morning, the five of them were standing at Vancouver bus station.

'Are you sure you don't want me to take you somewhere specific?' Lexa asked.

'I'm sure. There are still people after me. This way you can honestly say that you don't know where I am if you're asked,' Adam said.

The four nodded in understanding.

'Now, promise me something,' Adam said to them. 'Promise me you'll be careful and take care. The Dominion…they're…'

'Adam, don't worry about us, we'll be fine,' Brennan said reassuringly.

'Yeah we will. How many run-ins have we had with the Dominion now? Two, three? And look…' Jesse said motioning to himself and the rest of the team. '…We're still standing!'

'And next time, we'll kick their ass' for sure!' Lexa finished.

Adam smiled at Lexa's comment. 'I'm sure you will.' He looked at them all, standing there in front of him. 'I just want you all to know, that I'm so proud of you all. You've faced so much past year, but you've come out of it all stronger and closer than ever. You've all come so far.' He finished, his eyes lingering particularly upon Lexa

A voice sounded across the tanoy announcing that Adam's bus had arrived.

'We'll I'd better be off.' Adam said reaching for his bag.

'Adam,' Shalimar said grabbing his arm. 'You promise us something too. That this…it isn't goodbye,' she said.

'Don't worry, we'll see each other again soon,' He said picking up his bag from the floor. 'I'm sure of it.' He gave the team a last smile of goodbye and then turned and walked towards the bus.

The team watched him until he disappeared into the crowd. They stood staring after him for a while, and then Brennan spoke up. 'Right then, let's head home.'

Minutes later, they stood at the top of the now familiar hill, looking down at their new home on the other side.

'You know, I think this place needs a name, seeing as it's now officially our new home and base of operations.' Jesse said.

'How about Sanctuary II,' Brennan suggested.

Lexa laughed, 'That's really imaginative Brennan, however did you think of that!' She said, causing the rest of the group to laugh.

'Fine then, if that's not 'imaginative' enough for you,' said Brennan. 'Let me think…how about…The Pad!' He exclaimed.

'Sorry baby, but no way,' said Shalimar laughing.

'Yeah,' Lexa agreed. 'No home of mine is going to be dubbed 'The Pad'.'

'What's wrong with The Pad?' Brennan said, looking at Jesse for support.

'Sorry man, I agree with Lexa!' Jesse said, earning himself a smile from Lexa.

'You're just saying that because she's your girlfriend.' Brennan said, clearly in a huff

'Don't take it personally Brennan. You can't help having lame ideas!' Lexa teased.

Shalimar burst out laughing.

'Oh, you think that's funny do you?' He asked Shalimar who just carried on laughing.

Brennan picked Shalimar up, put her over his shoulder and began to run down the hill.

'Brennan,' Shalimar screamed. 'Brennan, put me down!'

Jesse and Lexa looked at each other and laughed. Then they too started down the hill, hand in hand, following their friends towards their new home.

The End

_Well, that's it, the last chapter. Hope you liked it._

_Big thank you to all those who have been loyally reading and reviewing throughout, much appreciated._

_LexaLane._


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